The Penn State Hershey Department of Pathology Visiting Professor Lecture Series will be held at 8 a.m. Tuesday, March 11, in the Pathology Conference Room, C7702. “Active Surveillance for Prostate Cancer: Critical Role of the Pathologist" will be presented by Dr. Jonathan Epstein, professor of pathology, urology and oncology at Johns Hopkins.

Nanotechnology for diagnosing and treating prostate cancer will be the focus of a five-year, $1.58 million grant by the National Institutes of Health to Penn State and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.

Approximately 300,000 men across the United States will be diagnosed with prostate cancer this year, making it the most common form of cancer in men. In the latest edition of Sound Health, a podcast produced by Penn State Hershey Medical Center, Dr. Jay Raman, associate professor of Urology, answers questions about this important topic.

Any cancer diagnosis is scary, but for men diagnosed with prostate cancer and women diagnosed with ovarian cancer, uncertainty regarding diagnosis, side effects of treatment and support groups that are available can make their battle with cancer even scarier. Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center's Joshua Kesterson, a gynecologic oncology specialist, and Joseph Drabick, specialist in hematology and oncology, offered some answers to important questions.

It used to be an annual ritual for men over 50 - a prostate check and a prostate specific antigen (PSA) blood test. But before undergoing the test, each man should discuss his personal risk factors with his physician to decide if it's reasonable for him to have the test.

Penn State Hershey Cancer Institute researchers are trying to determine if selenium yeast and selenomethionine lower prostate-specific antigen levels and prevent other markers related to prostate cancer development in healthy individuals of different age groups.

Prostate cancer strikes one in six American men. There's no better time than now to get checked for prostate cancer. Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center will offer a free prostate cancer screening from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 12 in University Physician Center Suite 3100. Appointments are available on a first-call basis.

Prostate cancer is a significant public health concern and cause of morbidity among men in the United States. Current treatment alternatives for clinically localized prostate cancer include removal of the prostate gland, radiation to the cancerous prostate, active surveillance or other treatments (hormonal or cryotherapy).

Prostate cancer develops in the glandular tissue of the male prostate, a reproductive gland situated below the bladder and in front of the rectum. The urinary sphincter (muscle that controls the flow of urine) is situated just below the prostate gland, and the nerves which allow a man to have an erection run on either side of the prostate. The prostate produces part of the fluid in semen. After diagnosis, the management of localized prostate cancer (cancer which has not spread or metastasized to other parts of the body) may be divided into three general categories: surgery, radiation therapy or active surveillance.

Prostate cancer is a significant public health concern and cause of morbidity among American men. It is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in the United States (excluding skin cancers) and is second only to lung cancer as a contributor to cancer deaths in American men. In 2010, it is estimated that nearly 218,000 new cases will be diagnosed and more than 32,000 men will die of prostate cancer. The lifetime probability of developing prostate cancer is one in six for American males. Screening can detect prostate cancer in its earliest stages when it is asymptomatic, or when signs and symptoms aren't present, and has the potential to decrease both morbidity and mortality.

One in six men is at risk of getting prostate cancer in their lifetime. Penn State Hershey Cancer Institute researchers are trying to determine if selenium yeast and selenomethionine lower prostate-specific antigen levels and prevent other markers related to prostate cancer development in healthy individuals of different age groups. Selenium is a mineral and is known to protect against cancer in laboratory animal models.